UNI Wrestling to Host Iowa State 7 p.m. Saturday

Iowa State (7-8 / 2-5 Big 12) at No. 13 UNI wrestling (5-4 / 2-2 Big 12)

7 p.m. CT Feb. 10 / Doors open to general public at 6 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. for season ticket holders
West Gym; Cedar Falls, Iowa
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NWCA team ranks / NCAA rankings for individuals

PDF OF FULL UNI NOTES
PDF OF COACHES RANKINGS
PDF OF RPI

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – UNI wrestling will close out its dual season with two home matches starting this weekend against Iowa State.

The Panthers will honor fans with military and first responder experience when they host the Cyclones 7 p.m. Saturday. This weekend's dual also will be a historical moment as the Panthers will unveil a display that will house the gold medal of UNI's only Olympic champion.

As always, season ticket holders will have the opportunity to enter 15 minutes prior to the general public. Fans are asked to arrive early, as a sold-out crowd is expected. Fans are advised to pre-purchase tickets at UNI ticket offices on campus, by calling (319) 273-4849 or online at UNIPanthers.com.

The NCAA released its first set of wrestling ratings percentage index (RPI) and an updated coaches poll today. Six Panthers continue to be ranked in the nation's top 33.

Weight – latest rank (RPI):

125 – No. 19 Jay Schwarm (10)
141 – No. 9 Josh Alber (4)
149 – No. 8 Max Thomsen (8)
174 – No. 7 Taylor Lujan (8)
184 – No. 10 Drew Foster (5)
197 – No. 14 Jacob Holschlag (5)

MATCHUPS
125: Sinjin Briggs, Fr. (1-11 / 1-7) vs. #19 Jay Schwarm, So. (19-8)

Briggs is a two-time state qualifier as a prep for Gilbert High School in Iowa.
Schwarm has a top-10 win over No. 6 Ryan Millhof of Arizona State and was second at the Southern Scuffle. He has nine first-period falls and leads the team with 12. He was eighth in the nation for number of falls in the least amount of time, but he was knocked out of the top 10 last week.

133: Markus Simmons, So. (19-13 / 2-6) vs. Jack Wagner, RFr. (7-15, 1-6) or Rudy Yates, RFr. (8-5, 0-1)

Simmons was the starter at 125 pounds for the first half of last year. He was eighth at the Cliff Keen last year. He won the UNI Open this year. Simmons holds the series' advantage against Wagner (2-0) and Yates (1-0).
Wagner transferred from Iowa to join UNI this year. He has earned bonus points in four of his wins.
Yates opened the season with second-place finishes at the UNI Open and the Jim Koch Wisconsin Open.

141: Ian Parker, RFr. (17-6 / 5-3) vs. #9 Josh Alber, Jr. (21-4)

The first NCAA coaches poll ranked Parker No. 19 in the 133-pound weight class. He is now unranked in the latest poll. He is coming off a win over No. 4 Dean Heil of Oklahoma State. Parker won 3-1 but sat out the next two duals, forcing ISU to forfeit points at 141 pounds to South Dakota State and North Dakota State. Parker started the year at 133 pounds. He beat Mike Longo of Oklahoma in his first dual at 141 pounds.
Alber, a two-time NCAA qualifier, was on a seven-match win streak until he was edged out by OSU's Heil. He has two falls, three tech falls and five major decisions this season. He has not given up bonus points. He has the second most dual takedowns on the team with 20. He has two top-10 wins and three wins over top-20 opponents. He took second at the Cliff Keen Invite.

149: #20 Jarrett Degen, RFr. (17-5 / 10-2) vs. #8 Max Thomsen, So. (21-5, 7-1)

Degen transferred to ISU from Virginia Tech after his redshirt year. Two of his five losses have come to No. 14 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State), who Thomsen beat last week.
Thomsen is one of two returning all-Americans for UNI. He was fifth at 149 pounds last year. Thomsen has two falls, three tech falls and four major decisions and has not given up bonus points this year.

157: Chase Straw, So. (14-11 / 7-7) vs. Paden Moore, So. (12-6, 1-1) or Logan Ryan, Jr. (13-6, 3-3)

Straw opened the season winning the Cyclone Open. Last year, he competed at 149 pounds.
Moore was in the lineup for much of last year. He was eighth at the 2017 MAC Championships.
Ryan transferred from Iowa to join UNI this year. He opened the season with a second-place finish at the UNI Open.

165: Logan Breitenbach, Jr. (7-6 / 1-4) or Brady Jennings, So. (14-1 / 0-2) or Skyler St. John, Jr. (6-8 / 0-4) vs. Dan Kelly, So. (8-9) or Isaiah Patton, So. (11-12)

Iowa State has slipped four different wrestlers into the 165-pound spot for duals with Breitenbach taking the majority of the matches. Breitenbach returned from an injury early last year to compete at the Big 12 Championships for ISU in 2017. Jennings won the Pat Flash Flanagan Open.
Kelly pinned No. 18 Lorenzo De La Rive of CSU-Baskersfield. He took No. 9 Chandler Rogers to sudden victory, where he lost 7-5.
Patton has five career duals as a Panther and took second to teammate Bryce Steiert at the UNI Open. Kelly leads the series 1-0 when Jennings was forced to end a match for injury in 2017 at the Duhawk Open.

174: Danny Bush, Jr. (14-12 / 3-5) or Hank Swalla, So. (7-7 / 1-3) vs. #7 Taylor Lujan, So. (23-4 / 8-1)

Bush transferred from Iowa Central Community College after earning All-America honors at 184 pounds. He was second at the UNI Open.
Swalla won the Willie Myers Open this year.
Lujan, a returning NCAA qualifier, has pinned eight wrestlers this year and notched four tech falls. He leads the team in dual takedowns with 22 and in dual scoring with 26 points. He has four wins over top-20 opponents.

184: Dane Pestano, Sr. (17-9 / 9-5) vs. #10 Drew Foster, Jr. (20-4 / 8-1)

After earning a berth to the NCAA championship in 2016, Pestano jumped from 165 pounds to 184 pounds for the 2017 season. He took second at the Lindenwood Open this year.
Foster is one of two returning All-Americans for UNI after placing seventh at last year's NCAA championships. He has five tech falls. He has six wins over four top-25 opponents. He took second at the Southern Scuffle to the nation's top wrestler, Bo Nickal of Penn State. Foster is on a six-match win streak.

197: #33 Sam Colbray (13-10 / 7-5) vs. #14 Jacob Holschlag So. (14-7 / 3-4)

Colbray earned Big 12 honors this week for his win over South Dakota State's Nate Rotert.
Holschlag moved up a weight midseason last year and qualified for the NCAA tournament at 197 pounds. He was second at the Southern Scuffle this year and took fourth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite.

285: Marcus Harrington, Jr. (19-9 / 10-3) vs. Carter Isley RFr. (18-10 / 4-5)

Harrington qualified for the NCAA championships at 197 pounds last year.
Isley has eight falls this season. He won the Harold Nichols and Grand View opens and finished second at the UNI Open.

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